Prayer & PraiseSlavic Gospel Association

SHARING THE GOSPEL EQUIPPING THE CHURCH HELPING THE FORGOTTEN

June 2018

Scripture theme of the month: But examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).

1Reflection: We begin June with the psalmist’s wonderful assurance . . .

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His lovingkindness . . . (Psalm 33:18).

2 As part of his leadership responsibilities, SGA president

Michael Johnson maintains a very intense travel schedule both overseas and here in North America. Please intercede for him in prayer on a regular basis.

3 Pray for SGA’s board of directors, who will be meeting later this

month. Ask the Lord to grant them His abundant wisdom and direction as they provide oversight to our mission and ministries.

4 Please lift retired SGA missionaries Valia Szczepanski and Rosemary

Gianesin, as well as our senior missionaries Andrew Semenchuk, Florence Daneliuk, and Ruth Deyneka Erdel, in prayer today. We are thankful to the Lord for their years of service for the sake of the Gospel.

5We praise and thank the Lord for the opportunity to support

church-based, Bible-based drug rehabilitation ministries in Russia. As substance abuse remains a devastating, growing problem, pray that God will provide resources to begin more of these ministries.

6 Pray for Dr. Peter Mitskevich, the new president of the Russian

Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (UECB). Also join us in thanking the Lord for the service of Pastor Alexei Smirnov, whose second term concluded this past March.

Please join us each day this month in prayer and praise for the work of Christ across Russian-speaking nations.

Russia

7We are receiving reports that authorities in some parts of Russia

are beginning to increase pressure on religious freedom using the 2016 anti-missionary law as the basis. Please lift the evangelical churches we serve in prayer, asking God to protect their Gospel outreach.

8Lift Pastor Eduard Genrikh in prayer today. As president of the

SGA-sponsored Novosibirsk Biblical-Theological Seminary, Eduard carries great responsibility in overseeing the training of future pastors and church leaders across Russia.

9We praise and thank the Lord for SGA’s faithful office staff in

Moscow, led by Valery Kazakov. May God bless, strengthen and encourage their hearts as they serve in Russia’s huge capital city.

10 Pray for the staff of SGA’s Minsk Regional Ministry Center

(RMC). May the Lord encourage their hearts and provide the resources they need for effective service to the evangelical churches of Belarus.

11Pray for Sergei Konyshev, who leads one of the SGA-sponsored

Orphans Reborn teams in Belarus. Sergei has had many opportunities to reach out to children removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect. Pray that these kids will turn to Christ in saving faith as they experience His love.

12 Intercede for the faculty and students of the SGA-sponsored

Minsk Theological Seminary in

Ukraine. Pray also for seminary president Leonid Mihovich, who was recently elected as the new UECB president for Belarus.

13As summer begins, please pray for SGA-sponsored camp

ministries across Belarus and the rest of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). We praise and thank our Lord for enabling these outreaches to needy children who desperately need to hear of Christ’s love for them.

14 Despite very tight restrictions imposed by the government,

evangelical churches in Belarus still have tremendous ministry opportunities in their regions. Intercede for our brothers and sisters there as they faithfully lift up the name of Jesus before their people.

15Please pray for SGA’s Sergei Omelchenko and his family

today. We are thankful for Sergei’s faithful service as assistant to SGA president Michael Johnson and as our chief Russian-language book editor.

Ukraine

Prayer & Praise

BELARUS

16 Lift the staff of SGA’s Kiev RMC in prayer today. Pray especially

for the health of director Ruslan Muratayev, who has faced some challenges in the past year. We are thankful for the diligent, faithful service of our Ukraine team.

17 Pray for Pastor Valery Antonyuk, president of the

Ukrainian UECB. May the Lord enable him to be a blessing and encouragement to fellow pastors and church workers across this nation of 45 million people.

18 Irpen Biblical Seminary and Odessa Theological Seminary

are two key evangelical Bible schools sponsored by SGA in Ukraine. Please remember the students and teachers in prayer regularly as they study God’s Word and prepare for ministry.

19 As the conflict with separatists in eastern Ukraine continues

with no end in sight, SGA-sponsored Crisis Evangelism Fund ministry is impacting many shattered lives with humanitarian aid and the life-changing Gospel. Pray for the safety of church teams as they travel and share Christ’s love.

20 One of the challenges faced by new evangelical churches in

Central Asia is governmental denial of registration applications on various grounds. Join us in praying for the removal of these roadblocks to the churches’ ministries.

21Summer camp ministry in the CIS often leads to many more

children getting involved in Sunday school outreaches. Pray for evangelical churches in the Caucasus and Central Asia as they discreetly reach children with the Gospel this summer.

22 Please pray for Pastor Kamil Abdullaev, president of the

Tajik UECB. We are thankful to the Lord for his faithful service in a nation where ministry can be very difficult due to opposition and severe poverty.

23Larissa Zotova leads a fruitful Orphans Reborn team sponsored

by SGA in Kazakhstan. Join us in praying for her and her team today, asking God to open even more doors to reach children with the Gospel.

24 Please pray today for SGA’s director of Bible training in

Israel as he continues to lead classes for Russian-language Bible students. Also lift up Israel College of the Bible with thanksgiving for their fruitful training programs.

25World Watch Monitor recently issued a report critical of

Uzbekistan for its religious rights record, noting ongoing pressure against evangelical Christians including police raids. Pray that God

June 2018

CENTRAL ASIA, CAUCASUS, & ISRAEL

will protect our brothers and sisters there, and encourage their hearts as they remain faithful.

26 Pray for Shirley Davis and Mary Alice Titcomb, who facilitate

the relationships between SGA missionary pastors and their sponsors here in North America. We praise and thank the Lord for their faithful service to Christ and His church.

27We praise God with thanksgiving for the hundreds

of partner churches across North America that support SGA ministries across the CIS. Only eternity will reveal the true impact of this partnership as the Gospel is proclaimed to the lost.

28 Pray for Bill Ball and the staff of SGA/Canada. May God increase

their resources for ministry, and draw many more evangelical churches to partner with what the Lord is doing across the CIS.

29 Please pray for SGA-sponsored Compassion Ministry across

Russia and her neighboring countries. Poverty continues to be a serious problem, and open doors for the Gospel are created when the churches help needy families in Jesus’ name.

30 Reflection: Let us conclude with the glorious praise of God

recorded by the Apostle John as it rang forth in Heaven . . . To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever (Revelation 5:13).

June 2018

Partner Prayer Requests

The SGA staff is honored to bring your request to the Lord. We thank you for the opportunity to serve you in this way.

Pray for my husband who has heart trouble . . . Lebo, Kansas

For open hearts as I share Christ with others . . . Rochester, New York

Please pray that I will have deeper faith . . . Lake Charles, Louisiana

I’m having spinal pain . . . pray for healing . . . Alamagordo, New Mexico

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Slavic Gospel Association Canada 55 Fleming Drive, Suite 26 Cambridge, ON N1T 2A9519-621-3553 www.sgacanada.ca